Meaning, pronunciation, and vibe

Joshua

Boy

Hebrew · English: UK /ˈdʒɒʃuə/, US /ˈdʒɑːʃuə/; initial stress.

Joshua carries a biblical meaning of salvation, a soft ending and the established English short form Josh.

Origin

Hebrew

Pronunciation

English: UK /ˈdʒɒʃuə/, US /ˈdʒɑːʃuə/; initial stress.

Meaning & vibe

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Yahweh is salvation.

Joshua is a masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning ‘Yahweh is salvation’. In the biblical story, Joshua succeeds Moses as leader of the Israelites, giving the name a clear place in that tradition. The English sound has a softer side: its ‘sh’ leads into an open, gently falling ending. That can make the full name feel warm and conversational. Josh, its established English short form, stops more briskly; the two offer a useful choice between a flowing rhythm and a concise everyday address.

Etymology: Joshua descends from Hebrew Yehoshua, which joins the divine name with the idea of saving or helping.

TraditionalWarm

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JJuliett

OOscar

SSierra

HHotel

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AAlfa

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Name popularity

Latest year: 2025

Boys
Rank66
Girls
RankNot reported

Source

SSA records cover Social Security card applications, not every US birth. Names with fewer than 5 occurrences are omitted; gaps do not mean zero. Spellings are kept separate, except that SSA removes spaces and hyphens. Equal counts are ranked alphabetically. Ranks are calculated separately for boys and girls.

Social Security Administration

Origins, variants & nicknames

Names derived from Hebrew words or name forms.

Origin

Hebrew